'Hunger Games' adds Oscar winner Hoffman to cast

By the Associated Press | July 9, 2012 | 12:38 PM EDT

FILE - This Oct. 19, 2011 file photo shows US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at the official BFI London Film Festival screening of "The Ides of March," in central London. Lionsgate announced Monday, July 9, 2012 that Hoffman has been cast in the role of Plutarch Heavensbee, head gamemaker for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," set for release in November. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, file)

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who earned the best-actor Oscar for 2005's "Capote," has joined the cast for part two in the futuristic adventure series, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."

Lionsgate Films announced Monday that Hoffman will play Plutarch Heavensbee, the new head game-maker overseeing an annual televised fight to the death staged by a repressive government in post-apocalyptic North America.

"Catching Fire" takes place a year after the blockbuster "The Hunger Games," with game survivors Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson, hurled into the government's machinations over the 75th annual games.